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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23431882">Celestial</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/FadhiliTheOne/pseuds/FadhiliTheOne'>FadhiliTheOne</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Comfort/Angst, F/M, Fluff and Angst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 10:54:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,531</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23431882</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/FadhiliTheOne/pseuds/FadhiliTheOne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on a oneshot tweet I wrote and then the shallura fandom was like "THIS WOULD MAKE A GREAT STORY"</p><p>Tl;DR : Allura runs out of hair dye.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Allura/Shiro (Voltron)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Celestial</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>She stared at her reflection in the mirror. </span>
  <span>She had pinched and slapped herself enough times to know there was no escaping it:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was no more hair dye in any of her cupboards.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Allura knew she messed up. The last time she went to the castle was specifically to restock on the altean product: an old altean recipe that had been secretly mass produced for her. She went to get two bottles, got distracted (she couldn’t even remember what!) and left with everything except the very thing she came to get.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And then the virus began spreading.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nobody was prepared for the global pandemic. And since they didn’t know how this would affect alien species, non-humans were under specific orders to not leave their homes and to have everything delivered to them. </span>
  <span>It would have been such a lonely time if she wasn’t being quarantined with Shiro.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They’ve both lived through traumatic experiences and avoided the topic of romance despite the tension between them rising. But one day, Shiro had surprised her with a bouquet of flowers on her desk. And their love naturally blossomed (pun intended). How he even managed to get into the castle unnoticed is still a mystery. But it’s been two years since.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It had only been half an hour: she was fresh out of the shower, body lotioned up and clothed in her favorite sweatpants and an old t-shirt she didn’t mind dirtying in the process. When she reached under the sink for the dye, that’s when it hit her: s</span>
  <span>he didn’t have any left. And with the quarantine, she couldn’t get any more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” she said to herself, “This isn’t so bad, Shiro will barely notice!... right?” </span>
  <span>She looked at her reflection. It was bad. There was no hiding her lavender hair and the pastel blue highlights nor how large and defined her curls truly were.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Alfor called in Coran, his oldest friend, his right hand through thick and thin. </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>“Coran, we need to give you an important task. This is not something we are asking lightly, and this is something you must do for the rest of your life.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Coran looked gravely at his king. “Is this life threatening?” he asked. Alfor nodded. “Could this be a risk to your family’s life?” he nodded again. Coran took a deep breath before reaching out to give his hand to Alfor. “Then I swear, I will do it.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You don’t even know what I’m asking you to do!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“That is true, but I’ve known you long enough to trust you and your judgment.” Alfor, touched by his words, hugged him instead. “I’m going to tell you, then we can shake on it.” Coran laughed. “Your majesty, we’ve seen a lot of things together. Whatever it is, I can handle it.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>They both turned to look at Queen Melenor. She took a deep breath before removing the traditional bonnet covering baby Allura’s hair.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>All colour disappeared from Coran’s face. “A… A celestial? But the princess was just born mere hours ago!” he whispered in shock.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“This is a first, I must admit,” Melenor said. “We have no recollections of this ever happening to a child. But if the legends are true…” she choked, holding back tears.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Coran, I’m asking you to be the sole keeper of this secret. Since deliveries are done privately, no one knows of this.</span>
  </em>
  
  <em>
    <span>And since she is but a child, we have decided to protect her.</span>
    <span> As king, there are already threats to my life. But if word was to go out that our daughter was a celestial, Altea would collapse by the next sunrise. I have a recipe for a quintessence-infused dye that will help hide her hair colour but we won’t always be there to apply it ourselves. We need you to protect this secret… no matter the cost.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Coran looked gravely at the royal family and at the royal child.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You have my word.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Allura wrapped her hair in two towels before stepping out an extra fifteen minutes later. Shiro, wo was working remotely from the kitchen counter, heard the bathroom door open and looked at the clock. “Babe are you sure you didn’t skip any steps in your regiment? Cuz it usually takes you a little longer to be done.” He turned around and saw Allura slowly walking towards him. “Is everything alright?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had seen many of Allura’s emotions before. But something about the way she looked at him now reminded him painfully of the war: sheer fear mixed with desperation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Allura, talk to me,” he said softly. She saw the worry in his eyes and heard it in his voice. And yet her body couldn’t reach out to him. “I…” she tried, her body rigid. </span>
  <em>
    <span>SPEAK!</span>
  </em>
  <span> She heard her subconscious say. “Allura, please remember to breathe,” he said, already reaching out to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“NO DON’T!” she yelled out, reaching her hands out in a defensive stance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before she realised what she had done, it was too late. She heard the towels drop to the floor and her hair fall around her face. Shiro’s eyes couldn’t hide one, his surprise and two, his amazement. Silence fell between them. “You.. you dyed your hair?” he asked curiously. “It… It’s so beautiful… celestial even….”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And then everything went black.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When she woke up, she was still on the floor. She could feel an arm around her back and a hand on her cheek. There was a man saying her name…. “Shiro?” she tried. </span>
  <span>He sighed. “Allura are you okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She looked at him and began to cry quietly. Not knowing what to do, he kissed her forehead, lifted her up bridal style and sat her down on the living room couch. A few minutes later, they were wrapped up in their biggest blanket and she had drunk two full glasses of water with the third one half filled on the coffee table. Shiro didn’t ask any questions: he held Allura in his arms and waited. It took Allura a full hour before she tried speaking… “I… didn’t dye my hair.” Shiro frowned but waited for her response. “This is my hair’s true colour.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So… your silver hair is actually a dye,” he concluded. She nods. He shifted his position to look at Allura in the eyes. “You have kept this a secret.” She nods again. “Okay… This is… me finding out is circumstantial. For whatever reason, I wasn’t supposed to find out. Or at the very least not like this.” She nods again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shiro thought about it. From the moment she came out of the pods some seven years ago, her hair had always been silver. So her hiding the truth means that she had been most likely doing so for years now. And the fear in her eyes spoke of sheer terror. There was something bigger at play here but he didn’t know if now was the best time to talk about it. “If you don’t want to tell me why, don’t.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Allura blinked. “What?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shiro repeated. “If you don’t want to tell me why, don’t. Do I want to know? Of course! But if this means it’s going to cause you this much worry, then don’t tell me. We’re in quarantine, nobody has to know. I’m guessing you forgot your haircare products back at the castle, we can ask Coran to get it delivered to us. But I do want you to consider that bottling things up isn't healthy for your mental health so….You can tell me when you’re ready.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All Allura could do was stare at him as new tears streamed down her face. “Oh baby it’s okay,” he said while wiping her tears and kissing her cheeks. “Allura, my love, it’s okay…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No it’s not.” She replied. “I…. I haven’t said anything for seven YEARS and you… WHY?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because that’s how love works. This is something that, based on the fact that you fainted, you are maybe not fully ready to talk about and that’s okay. It’s okay to not be okay.'' She sat in silence, holding Shiro's prosthetic hand against her cheek. The coolness of the metal helped ease the burning of her cheeks. He had seen some of the absolute worst in the universe and still remained a calming presence, a beacon of light and hope. And now he is her home.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was tired of always being on edge.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am a celestial.” Hearing herself saying it provoked a new wave of tears. Shiro held her closer, patiently waiting to see if she would add on. “Celestials are… they are divine-like creatures, believed to be related somehow to the white lion. Usually their identities are revealed well into adulthood. In a matter of seconds, their hair changes colour. They are, according to stories, a bad omen.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He pieced the rest together. “Except for you… you were much younger.…” she nods. “I was actually born like this.” Shiro let go of the breath he didn’t realize he was holding onto. This was huge. “Does Coran know?” He asked. She nods again. “And now you. You’re the only two people who know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shiro hesitated before asking the next question. “What happened to the last person who had hair like yours?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shuddered. “He got assassinated. My great grandfather killed his own husband, his best friend! This is always what happens, they believe that killing a celestial will grant them peace. But when I was born…I…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her parents made a different call. They couldn’t imagine killing their own newborn child nor why she was born like this. So they decided to trust in the white lion and raise and love her all while hiding the truth from all of Altea. </span>
  <span>“Nobody knows anything about what celestials actually do other than being more connected to quintessence than others.” she sighed. “My parents believed that since I was born like this, I had a greater purpose than those before me. I’m not so sure: I feel like the war was just a huge nightmare.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What if your parents were right?” Shiro asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hear me out. You said that your hair is perceived as a bad omen. I think it’s just a manifestation of the inevitable. You’re not to be blamed for bad things happening. And your parents… knowing the little they knew about it… they decided that ‘actually, if the white lion gave us this child it’s for a purpose and we will trust in her’ and surely enough the inevitable happens: you fulfill your purpose.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She stares at him. “How?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“During the battle against Honerva.” He replies confidently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But… But Voltron saved us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not before you gave us all enough quintessence to press reset on the universe. Isn’t it fitting that your hair is purple AND blue? Dark and light quintessence? Kinda like the ying yang of the energy of the universe, don’t you think?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She felt her heartbeat quicken. “Allura,” he concluded, “ultimately, you saved us all. And at the same time, none of this was your fault. Your existence in this universe did not cause a war.” She didn’t realize how strongly she was gripping onto Shiro until a small hiss escaped his lips. She quickly let go of him but he kept her trapped in his arms. “Allura…” he said, forcing her to look at him. “The war was not your fault.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I need you to say it: ‘the war was not my fault.’ ”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Because now, he knew. He knew that if she had kept this hidden for all these years, that somewhere deep inside her, she was also blaming herself for everything. And that guilt was what could ultimately kill her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The…..the war…… the war was not…..” and that’s all she could say before bursting into tears. Shiro didn’t insist. He held onto her and rocked her as the chilling screams echoed through their home. She cried, calmed down and cried again. And Shiro held onto her, rubbed her back even when her nails dug into his skin once more, even when her screams pained his eardrums.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Allura ended up falling asleep in his arms, completely exhausted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When she woke up three hours later, it was to the smell of something sweet… or is that melted cheese? She went to scratch her head and noticed that she was sleeping on her silk pillow. “Give me two minutes angel, just finishing up,” Shiro said from the kitchen. He took out the orange juice from the fridge and set it on the tray before making his way with all the food to the living room. “Uhh I’m not gonna finish all that…” she whispered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Allura, babe, you didn’t eat before going to shower earlier today and haven’t eaten since. Emotional exhaustion is one thing but it’s worse when you’re hungry.” She sighed as she reached for her first slice of pizza. But when she guiltily eyed the last slice a few minutes later, Shiro chuckled. “Why do you think there’s another pizza in the oven?” She laughed and defeatedly ate the slice on the platter. There wasn’t much left of the little feast once they were full. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was nibbling on a sugar cookie when she heard Shiro say: “You know what baffles me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Allura looked at him. “All this time, I… all these years and you never felt comfortable enough to tell me the truth. You spent your whole life on edge, fearing for your life because of something you had no control over. I’m so sorry you had to endure this.” Allura passed her fingers through Shiro’s white tuff. “You don’t need to apologize. It’s not your fault. Not mine either.” She kissed his cheek. “ I still don’t know what to do about it,” she added.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Like I said, nobody has to know, if you do want to tell them, let it be on your own terms. We’ll tell Coran to ship over a few bottles for us. Until then, regular human products will have to do.” She made an exasperated sound. “I don’t wanna do my hair!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t have to...I can do it.” Allura laughed. “Stop joking!” But then Shiro kept staring. Wait what seriously?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well your hair texture isn’t too far off from black girls on our planet… and maybe Hunk was secretly teaching me before the quarantine…” Allura’s eyes beamed “IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SURPRISE!!” He added in his defense.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“SHIRO YOU PRACTICED ON HUNK’S SISTERS FOR ME?!?!?” She squealed before sitting on his lap to hug him. “YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU SHIRO DO YOU KNOW THAT?!?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I sure hope so,” He replied jokingly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t deserve you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sais the one who yeeted me out of a Galra ship to save my life and tried to shrug it off.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She laughed. It wasn’t much, but Shiro managed to braid four long and neat cornrows on Allura’s head. She still had a hard time looking at her natural hair colour but couldn’t help herself to smile whenever she thought about how loved she was by this man.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I guess getting quarantined with Shiro isn’t that bad</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she thought while happily washing the dishes with him.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Epilogue: It took her another two years and many sessions at the psychiatrist before she was reading to come forth with the truth. First to the other Paladins and slowly but surely to the rest of the universe. And five years after that fateful day, she applied the hair dye for the last time.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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